Grindr launches INTO, a new media property

If content is king these days, then everyone really wants to wear the crown.

The latest business to throw itself into the media melee is Grindr, the popular gay social networking app which has just launched a new media site called INTO.

Pitching itself as the millennial response to Out Magazine, INTO features a similar mix of culture, lifestyle, entertainment, news and features … and the company even hired Out’s former editor at large, Zach Stafford to run the site.

Grindr actually began experimenting with publishing on its own homepage before moving the news and features to the INTO site earlier this year, according to a spokesman.

It’s the latest attempt by the social network to diversify and capitalize on its incredibly strong brand within the gay community. Other attempts to spin out new ways to make money on the brand include Gaymoji, an emoji keyboard, and is running a growing event business under the Slumbr brand.

Courtesy Grindr LLC

Having a media play seems to be just part of running a company these days, I guess (although not as much of a stretch as Van Winkles, the publishing arm of mattress startup Casper… I see you Van Winkles and still do not understand why you exist).

Stafford is an award-winning journalist and has assembled a team of writers to help push out stories including Nico Lang and Mathew Rodriguez, photo editor Oly Innes. Also helping beef up content will be a paid contributor network that already numbers in the hundreds, according to a spokesperson.

Increasingly, as lifestyle-focused corporate social networks assert themselves as hubs for identity in the modern world, there’s no doubt that more of these types of media plays will crop up.

With the internet displacing both network and cable television, there’s no limit to the profusion of properties that can claim a sliver of an audience’s attention. And with a built in base of users to turn to, there’s a pretty good chance that many of these new Vicestyle brands will be successful.